I love Boy George! Always have. He brought LGBT acceptance right onto MTV and onto college campuses. And his music is soooo awesome! Yes he’s had some troubles, but he came through them and now has a new album with the slow sexy island rhythms and George’s sweet vocals.

You know I read this article yesterday where this guy was kind of saying the truth is that it isn’t happening in Russia and I was like, “Are you fucking stupid? It is happening. It’s really real.” And I just feel like, if it happened [in America] I’d feel the same way. But, you know, if it happened in America you’d feel like there was some hope of changing it, you know? Like the death of Matthew Shephard — it created change. I feel like in Russia you kind of feel powerless. You think, What would I do? I mean I’ve been there a lot in my career. In the ‘80s I couldn’t go there, I was banned from Russia just for being me…I’ve been there since then a lot but not recently. I haven’t been invited. And from what I’ve been told, I’m not known in Russia as a homosexual — that’s not how I’m seen. I mean, I am obviously [laughs.] But I’ve been there many times -– I’ve walked across Red Square dressed as Leigh Bowery and no one bothered me! I think the bottom line in places like Russia is very simple: they cannot deal with the politicization of gay culture. They know that there are gay people in Russia –- there’s always been gay people in Russia. And there have been gay clubs in Russia for many, many years. But it seemed to kick off around the time that they wanted to have a Gay Pride in Moscow, that seems to be when it really turned. And they’re not ready for it! They’re not mature enough or developed enough to embrace the idea that gay people can be more than what they do in bed. It’s as simple as that but remember –- it wasn’t that long ago that here in America or in the UK that you could be sent to prison for being gay. It wasn’t that long ago.

My sexuality takes up about two hours a month or a week, depending on what’s going on. These people that imagine all we do is copulate, they’re kind of hung up on the sexual aspect of gay culture. And you think, we have mothers to visit, taxes and bills to pay, jobs to do, articles to write, careers to look at — it’s like, come on!…

There were times when I’d see my brothers on the street and they would cross over to the other side. I mean, I was in white makeup, hair up here — it was extreme. And I hated them for doing that…But that didn’t last. Some weird things happened, like when I was about 17, my older brother got married and he said, “Oh, you can’t come to my wedding unless you dye your hair,” and I was like “Well then, I’m not coming.” And I didn’t go. They wanted me to be an usher and I was like, “I’m not cutting my hair off and I’m not dying it black.” I was like, “Fuck you.” But I turned up at the reception with like 50 punks and they were fine. Once we got to the reception everyone was drunk.